Title

Author

Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

12-2002

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Russell O. Mays

Committee Members

Russell F. West, Nancy Dishner, Cecil N. Blankenship

Abstract

In the year 2000, over one million children were involved in a new divorce. These statistics indicated that this subgroup of children would continue to be a large part of the school population. The school, because of time spent there, becomes a likely place for the recognition and identification of problems that may arise from parental divorce, thus providing an appropriate setting for interventions to be conducted.

The purpose of this study was to determine how parents, classroom teachers, and school counselors viewed the role of the school as a support system for children of divorce. The study also explored opinions about intervention and suggestions from divorced parents with children in schools. In this phenomenological study, a guided interview guide was used to interview 20 parents, 20 classroom teachers, and 8 school counselors. Data were collected, analyzed, and arranged into themes.

From the findings the researcher concluded that parents, classroom teachers, and school counselors were aware that families of divorce sometimes require school intervention for their child's well being. Parents interviewed indicated that school staff should be informed of a parental divorce, by stating that the classroom teacher and counselor, if needed, should be involved with the child's well being. They also indicated that they believed school counselors were trained to provide divorce intervention, and they gave suggestions for the school to consider when working with children of divorce. Classroom teachers interviewed indicated that intervention should be used for children of divorce in the school setting if needed, that they used some kind of strategy when needed, and that they saw the school counselor as a resource in divorce intervention. School counselors interviewed indicated that it was the counselor's responsibility to assist children of divorce. They stated that they had not had specific training in divorce intervention, and gave examples of divorce intervention techniques used in their home school.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Recommended Citation

Cottongim, Constance Myers, "The School's Role as a Support System for Children of Parental Divorce." (2002). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 704. http://dc.etsu.edu/etd/704